Accelerometers (devices used for measuring acceleration or for detecting and measuring vibration) can be mounted to support structures by a variety of known methods. These methods can be more or less cumbersome depending on such application-driven factors as design specification and space limitation.
For example, a customer may demand accelerometers with cables which are rigidly secured to the accelerometer and not designed for removal therefrom. Often, it is desirable to mount such accelerometers to the support structure with a single connector by employing a centerbolted design or a threaded stud. Securement then requires that the accelerometer be rotated along with the protruding cable as the bolt or stud is driven into a tapped bore which is formed in the support structure. This task is inherently cumbersome, and is made more so in applications which provide very limited working space.
Other problems arise when the accelerometer must be secured to the support structure and then connected to an already-positioned cable. Unless the tapped bore in the support structure is very precisely dimensioned in relation to the accelerometer (which, ordinarily, is not the case), the cable connector of the accelerometer will probably not be aligned with the cable when the accelerometer is secured to the structure. If the cable isn't sufficiently long and flexible, or if space limitations preclude the use of longer cables, spacers may be used between the accelerometer and the support structure in a trial-and-error process until the required alignment is provided. However, the use of spacers will adversely affect the frequency response and robustness of the accelerometer.